How Customers of Your Business Can be able to pay you with cryptocurrency

Feb 15, 2023

It's essential to be aware of your customers' perspective in particular at critical moments of transformation like checkout. An essential aspect of an effective checkout experience is offering an easy, secure method for customers to check out using the option of payment they prefer.

In this post will help you comprehend the process of making a payment from the perspective of your customer's point from a customer's perspective. By understanding this will allow you to identify opportunities to boost the rate at which you convert customers, give direct support, and educate your clients and customers.

Crypto vocab check

It is possible to explore the terms in these categories a bit further by clicking here. However, here's an overview of the terms that are most relevant:

Public key: Essentially, the information someone needs for sending you cryptocurrency.

Public address The hashed (basically short) version of an open key. It is the kind of address you could share with someone who wants to send you money. Consider it as an Venmo username, or PayPal.me hyperlink. (e.g., 0x12B0aD31f483Cdf4741de8f5679A472E5fe3345G)

Keys that are private: allows the user to gain access to funds that have been transferred to the public key. This should never be shared with another party.

Web3: Defined by AP Stylebook, Web3 is a catchall term for the prospect of a new stage of the internet driven by the cryptocurrency-related technology, blockchain.

Web3 wallet (crypto wallet): Stores public and private keys for blockchain transactions.

Seed phrases: A collection composed of 12-24 random-generated words which allow access to a Wweb3 wallet. It can be utilized to regain access to a wallet for cryptocurrency. The information should not be shared with a third party.

Non-custodial wallet: Users own their own private keys, and they have all access to their wallet on Wweb3. (e.g., Metamask, Trust Wallet. )

Custodial wallet private keys are held by third-party organizations. (e.g., Coinbase, OpenNode. )

Peer-to-peer payments

It's possible that you're thinking "Isn't an important benefit of cryptocurrency the fact they're peer to peer and don't depend on third party services?"

Yes, it's entirely possible for you to receive money from your customer without needing to use any tool or service from a third party.

However, this simply isn't realistic for the average consumer. It's not feasible for them to create an individual node, create transactions via a command line, and then store their personal keys. In addition, the majority of merchants are happy to accept a modest fee for transactions to offer customers a simple experiencewhile also saving a lot of time and energy in reconciling transactions with orders.

So, this article focuses on the typical transactions made by e-commerce using products and services that are likely to be adopted by novice and intermediate users.

Overview of making a crypto payment

From the viewpoint of a prospective customer From the perspective of a customer, there are three steps:

  1. Get access to a funded cryptocurrency wallet.
  2. Connect their wallets.
  3. Pay the amount and you will receive a confirmation.

The specific experience depends on the processing company and wallets used. Let's go through a couple of examples and explain what's taking place every step of the way for your customer.

1. You can access a fundable cryptocurrency wallet

There are many options for folks who want an online wallet that supports crypto. Each one comes with specific features, advantages as well as support for various types of cryptocurrencies, chains, as well as payment experiences.

"Traditional" digital wallet providers such as PayPal along with CashApp currently support crypto payments. The top crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, Crypto.com, and Binance have their own applications and also act as wallets for payments. Additionally, there are wallets that are native to crypto such as MetaMask, Rainbow, and several others. It is recommended to conduct yourself a thorough research and determine the most suitable option to suit your needs.

After choosing a wallet and setting it in place, your next stage is to include a crypto to it, so you have an available balance to spend. It is typically a simple procedure since most wallets provide an in-app payment option.

What is the best way for a consumer to decide which currency to use?

This is a good topic! Most of the time, it doesn't need to be a factor, with the exception of charges that could add up if they have to exchange currencies. Certain payment processors for crypto will allow automatic exchange to allow customers to make payments with one currency, and then get it back in another.

If that's not feasible the majority of crypto wallets provide an in-wallet swap or exchange feature so that when a user has bitcoin (BTC) however wants to pay in Ethereum (ETH), they can make that swap effortlessly. It is ideal to load your wallet with whatever currency you want to pay with, but it's not always feasible ahead of making purchases.

2. Make sure that their wallet is connected on your site

There are two ways that a customer can link their wallets with your site: either a QR code (or browser) wallet connect. Crypto payment processors may offer either or both choices.

QR code

This method is ideal for customers who have their crypto wallet as an app on their phone. If someone decides to pay via cryptocurrency, they'll be presented with the QR code which they can scan with a application within their crypto wallet app.

Image illustrating how crypto payments are made via QR code. 
Image text:
Crypto app payment via QR code
1. Merchant provides a QR code at checkout.
2. Customer scans the QR code to review and authorize the transaction in their crypto app.
3. Merchant site confirms receipt and completes the purchase.
Methods to receive crypto-based payments through QR codes.

The browser wallet is connected to your account

This route is best for users who have access to their cryptocurrency wallet through a web browser extension. When a user chooses this option, they're prompted to connect to their Web3 wallet using a button, which invokes the browser's wallet, and requests for permission for connection.

Image illustrating how crypto payments are made via browser extension.
Image text:
Crypto wallet payment via browser extension
1. Merchant provides crypto payment options and browser wallet connection prompt.
2. Customer selects their browser wallet to review and authorize the transaction within the extension.
3. Merchant site confirms receipt and completes the purchase.
How to pay for crypto by using a browser extension.

3. Pay the amount and you will receive confirmation.

Whichever method the client chooses The wallet will give them prompts to guide them to pay a bill - via either the app or on the web browser.

When payment is received the payment may be delayed. There is a time delay (usually just a few seconds) before payment is confirmed by the blockchain. Once this is done, you and the recipient will both receive a confirmation. If transactions happen directly on the blockchain, you could each receive a blockchain transaction ID.

That's all there is!

What exactly do these processes mean for merchants?

There's a huge gap between a client who's already comfortable with crypto and prepared to make a purchase as opposed to someone who has never heard of crypto before. Setting up an account in a crypto wallet, securing it and understanding the process to complete the transaction are all obstacles to access.

In the beginning, cryptocurrency transactions are expected to originate from experienced cryptocurrency users. As time passes, this amount will likely to increase significantly. Therefore, if you're followers and customers have indicated that they're interested by crypto It could be beneficial to point them towards reliable sources so they can learn how to make payments to you the way they prefer.

The advantages of using crypto payments for your clients

  1. They hold crypto and want to spend it! It could be that they're an early investor, they're an expert trader or get their money in crypto.
  2. It's cheaper for them to spend crypto directly rather than pay exchange and/or charges for forex transactions in traditional payment methods. This can be especially the case in the case of international clients.
  3. It is possible that they do not have access to alternative payment options.
  4. They may prefer to keep certain transactions private or separate from other financial transactions.
  5. The majority of them feel that it's more comfortable and safe.
  6. They value being able to transact without paying fees to traditional financial service providers (i.e., they're ideologically-driven).
  7. There is no limit to daily payment amounts This is especially true for high-cost, luxury products that may exceed the person's daily bank limits.
  8. The buyer is paying for a digitally native asset like an NFT.

Considerations of the customer to keep in mind

You can see that there's plenty of choices in the field of crypto payments from a customer perspective. There are a few points to keep in mind while choosing and operating crypto payment options:

  1. What is the easiest way for your customers to pay? What are the best payment methods? which cryptocurrency?
  2. Do you have customers who are exposed to fees from crypto networks in the direct manner? It could be harder for them be able to pay for a service if it is extremely full.
  3. Are you aware of dispute resolution? This is particularly important in the absence of conventional refund and chargeback options. Unhappy or angry customers are more likely to make complaints and post negative reviews.
  4. What time will the customers have to wait to receive their order confirmation? Based on the method you're using to allow customers to pay, they may need to wait longer than usual. Again, this is where the use of a payment partner could assist, since they will often keep both fees and confirmation times very low.
  5. Do consumers require information? They may benefit from education on how they can pay with crypto, along with guidance in securing themselves and staying clear of fraudulent transactions.

Confidently help your customers embrace the new world of payment

Merchants can choose crypto payment processing methods that are straightforward and familiar. Customers, on the other hand, have a different payment experience.

The world is full of millions of people who are already eager, ready and able to pay with the crypto. Even though crypto payments have become more simple and easier but it's important that merchants understand the experiences of their customers and the implications of their decisions so that they can make the most of this new opportunities for growth.